N.Y. Correct. Law § 500-d

§ 500-d. Food and labor. (1) Prisoners detained for trial, and those\nunder sentence, shall be provided with a sufficient quantity of plain\nbut wholesome food, at the expense of the county; such foods shall be\npurchased in the manner and subject to the regulations provided in\nsection four hundred eight of the county law; but prisoners detained for\ntrial may, at their own expense, and under the direction of the keeper,\nbe supplied with any other proper articles of food.\n (2) Such keeper shall cause each prisoner committed to his jail for\nimprisonment under sentence, to be constantly employed at hard labor\nwhen practicable, during every day, except Sunday but the Sunday\nexception shall not apply where a prisoner under sentence of\nintermittent imprisonment serves less than the five preceding days in\nthe jail and the keeper has adopted an employment program designed\nespecially for intermittent imprisonment, and the board of supervisors\nof the county, or judge of the county, may prescribe the kind of labor\nat which such prisoner shall be employed; and the keeper shall account,\nat least annually, with the board of supervisors of the county, for the\nproceeds of such labor.\n (3) Such keeper may, with the consent of the board of supervisors of\nthe county, or the county judge, from time to time, cause such of the\nconvicts under his or her charge as are capable of hard labor, to be\nemployed outside of the jail in the same, or in an adjoining county,\nupon such terms as may be agreed upon between the keepers and the\nofficers, or persons, under whose direction such convicts shall be\nplaced, subject to such regulations as the board or judge may prescribe;\nand the board of supervisors of the several counties are authorized to\nemploy convicts under sentence to confinement in the county jails, in\nbuilding and repairing penal institutions of the county and in building\nand repairing the highways in their respective counties or in preparing\nthe materials for such highways for sale to and for the use of the\nstate, counties, towns, villages or cities, and in cutting wood and\nperforming other work which is commonly carried on at a prison camp, and\nto make rules and regulations for their employment; and the said board\nof supervisors are hereby authorized to cause money to be raised by\ntaxation for the purpose of furnishing materials and carrying this\nprovision into effect; and the courts of this state are hereby\nauthorized to sentence convicts committed to detention in the county\njails to such hard labor as may be provided for them by the boards of\nsupervisors. This section as amended shall not affect a county wholly\nincluded within a city. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an\nincarcerated individual may be permitted to leave the institution under\nguard to voluntarily perform work for a nonprofit organization pursuant\nto this subdivision. As used in this section, the term "nonprofit\norganization" means an organization operated exclusively for religious,\ncharitable, or educational purposes, no part of the net earnings of\nwhich inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.\n